School bullying is a complex social and relational phenomenon with severe consequences for those involved. Most children view bullying as wrong and recognize its harmful consequences; nevertheless, it continues to be a persistent problem within schools. Previous research has shown that childrens engagement in bullying perpetration can be influenced by multiple factors (e.g., different forms of cognitive distortions) and at different ecological levels (e.g., child, peer-group, school, and society). However, the complexity of school bullying warrants further investigation of the interplay between factors, at different levels. Grounded in social cognitive theory, which focuses on both cognitive factors and social processes, this study examined whether childrens bullying perpetration was associated with moral disengagement at the child level and with collective moral disengagement and prevalence of pro-bullying behavior at the classroom level. Cross-level interactions were also tested to examine the effects of classroom-level variables on the association between childrens tendency to morally disengage and bullying perpetration. The studys analyses were based on cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data from 1,577 Swedish fifth-grade children from 105 classrooms (53.5% girls; M-age = 11.3, SD = 0.3). Multilevel modeling techniques were used to analyze the data. The results showed that bullying perpetration was positively associated with moral disengagement at the child level and with collective moral disengagement and pro-bullying behavior at the classroom level. Furthermore, the effect of individual moral disengagement on bullying was stronger for children in classrooms with higher levels of pro-bullying behaviors. These findings further support the argument that both moral processes and behaviors within classrooms, such as collective moral disengagement and pro-bullying behavior, need to be addressed in schools preventive work against bullying.

This study examined the links between seven specific mechanisms of moral disengagement and indirect bullying, direct bullying, and pro-aggressive bystander behavior. In addition, the moderating role of gender on these associations was examined. Participants were 317 Swedish students in Grades 4 to 8 (𝑋⎯⎯⎯age=12.6X¯age=12.6, SD = 1.35; 62% girls). Multivariate multiple regression analyses showed that indirect bullying was predicted by gender and victim attribution. Direct bullying was predicted by moral justification, and for girls, by victim attribution. Pro-aggressive bystander behavior was predicted by diffusion of responsibility, victim attribution, gender, and age. That is, boys and younger students were more prone to take the aggressor’s side compared with girls and older students. Furthermore, the relation between pro-aggressive bystander behavior and distortion of consequences appeared stronger in boys than in girls. These results highlight the relative importance of specific moral disengagement mechanisms and may have implications for interventions targeting bullying.